The Indian army has handed over a Azad Jammu and Kashmirboy who had inadvertently crossed the Line of Control (LoC), a defence official said on Sunday.
“Army officials in Tangdhar sector handed over 11-year-old Sameer Kayani, son of Mohammad Rafiq of Laswa Athmuqam in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, who had inadvertently crossed the LoC two days ago, to Pakistan Army officials,” defence spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel NN Joshi said.
“The boy was handed over by the unit based at Tanghdar frontier area at Teetwal crossing point with new clothes and sweets for the family,” he added, according to NDTV.
Lieutenant Colonel Joshi said that soon after the boy was apprehended by the troops, the Indian army sent an urgent hotline message to Pakistan side informing them of the safety and well-being of Kayani. Further, Joshi said they forwarded a request for a flag meeting so the 11-year-old could be repatriated and reunited with his family at the earliest.
“The flag meeting was held at Teetwal on Saturday and Kayani was handed over to the representatives of the Pakistan Army,” Joshi said.
On Sunday, Pakistani and Indian security forces exchanged fire at the working boundary near Sialkot in a latest sign of tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement that Indian Border Security Force (BSF) resorted to ‘unprovoked’ firing in Charwah Sector. However, there were no reports of casualties from either side.
